The West Liberty University football team is hitting the road for the second straight weekend as the Hilltoppers prepare for Saturday's game at the University of Charleston. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at UC Stadium.

West Liberty (1-6, 1-4) is coming off a 50-24 loss at defending West Virginia Conference champion Shepherd last week but the 28-point final margin was a bit deceiving.

The upset-minded Hilltoppers traded leads with the Rams throughout the first half and trailed just 29-24 midway through the third quarter before Shepherd's ball-control offense was able to put the game on ice.

The Rams rushed for nearly 200 yards in the second half while keeping the ball away from the West Liberty offense for 23 of the 30 minutes in the final two quarters, a scenario Charleston would love to repeat on Saturday.

“I was pretty pleased with the first half at Shepherd,” WLU head coach Roger Waialae said. “We played with passion and made plays on both sides of the ball against one of the better teams in the region.

“Whether they wore us down in the second half or not, they beat us up a little bit in the trenches and took us out of our game plan simply by running the football. After seeing that tape, I'm sure Charleston will try to do the very same thing this week and we can't let that happen.”

The Golden Eagles (1-6, 1-3) had been one of the league's top rushing teams for the past several years thanks to Coach Tony DeMeo's triple-option attack.

DeMeo retired and was replaced by Pat Kirkland, who installed new offensive and defensive systems when he took the reins in the spring but obviously hasn't abandoned the running game.

Charleston's two tailbacks – WVU transfer Jordan Roberts and backup Adrien Jenkins – have combined for more than 1,000 rushing yards through the first seven games. Roberts is averaging 6.6 yards per carry, which ranks No. 2 nationally among all rushers with more than 100 attempts, while Jenkins is averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

Their talents were on full display two weeks ago when UC rewrote the record books in a 49-35 victory at Seton Hill. Roberts and Jenkins each surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark as Charleston rushed for a school-record 454 yards and 5 touchdowns on 60 carries. 

The Golden Eagles finished with a school-record 714 yards of total offense – the highest total in NCAA Division II this season – but they've been held under 350 yards of total offense in every other game this season.

“They don't rely on the option as much as they have in the past,” Waialae said, “but they kept it in their package, which was a pretty smart coaching decision. That's what those kids were recruited for and they're pretty good at it.

“Obviously, they've had their best success when they've been able to run the ball and after last week, I'd expect them to just line up and come right at us. We have to take that away and get them into passing situations where we have an opportunity to force some mistakes.”

There were several bright spots at Shepherd. L.D. Crow hit Brandon Carver with an 80-yard touchdown bomb on the first snap of the game and Carver finished with a career-high 110 receiving yards. Defensive tackle Nick Augustyn scored his first career touchdown when he recovered a Ram fumble in the end zone and defensive back Justin Black brought Hilltopper supporters to their feet with a 90-yard kickoff return score in the third quarter.

Waialae is looking for more of the same on Saturday but would like to see it carry through all four quarters.

“We need to play a complete football game,” Waialae said. “We fought Shepherd toe-to-toe in the first half but didn't answer the bell in the second half. The average play in a football game lasts 6 or 7 seconds. We need our kids to go down there and play a tough, physical brand of football for a full 60 minutes, 6 seconds at a time.”

GAME NOTES

X The Hilltoppers have a 12-10-1 lead in the all-time series against Charleston and have won the last four meetings

X This is West Liberty's first visit to UC Stadium since 2009, when the No. 18 Hilltoppers outlasted No. 10 Charleston, 48-42, in double-overtime en route to a WVIAC championship and NCAA Division II playoff berth

X That was West Liberty's first win against a Top 10 team since joining the NCAA Division II ranks

X L.D. Crow's 80-yard TD pass to Brandon Carver was WLU's longest pass completion since an 85-yard TD toss from Zach Amedro to Kevon Calhoun against Edinboro in the 2009 NCAA Division II playoffs